WDNY Local News, Friday, April 19, 2019

Congressman Chris Collins hasn’t said yet if he is running for re-election, but if he does he’ll have money in the bank. The latest fundraising report shows the congressman raised $5000 between January and March—all of it was donated by Republican campaign committees. Collins says he will make up his mind later this year or early in 2020 He is scheduled to go on trial in February on charges of insider trading. He doesn’t want to talk about that case but says it will be a factor in his decision whether or not to run.

Three people have been arrested after a traffic stop in 390 that deputies say turned up heroin, crack cocaine and hypodermic needles. The driver and his two passengers—all from the Olean area—have been charged with drug offenses. One of the passengers is also facing tampering with evidence charges because deputies say she tried to hide some of the drugs during the roadside investigation. The arrests were made as part of the Livingston County Sheriff’s office Operation Safe Interstate initiative.

Red Cross volunteers will be heading out across the region starting next week to make sure everyone who needs a smoke alarm has one. The campaign is called Sound The Alarms and the Red Cross hopes to reach thousands of homes with free alarms and installation. That outreach starts on Saturday the 27th and runs through May 13th. If you’d like to find out more, the local website is soundthealarm.org-backslash wcny.

Some 4-h Members from New York are lending a hand to farmers in Nebraska who lost more than a million head of cattle and hundreds of thousands of acres of land in the devastating floods there in March. Among those taking part in “Project Clover Aid”, some 4 h members from Allegany County who are taking donations and collecting supplies for the people in Nebraska who are still recovering from the disaster, which Nebraska’s governor says was the worst ever to hit his state. There is information about Project Clover Aid available online

A couple from Caledonia will celebrate an anniversary on May 3rd—an anniversary not many people get to. John and Willie Veldhusien have been married since 1946—73 years. They were married in the Netherlands but moved to the US in 1949 and settled in Livingston County. They’ll enjoy the day with their 4 children, 5 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.